1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plate-fin type heat exchanger used for transferring heat between two fluids on high- and low-temperature sides different in temperatures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, heat exchangers are widely used for the utilization of heat energy, equipment requiring heat removal and so on. Among them, there is a plate-fin type heat exchanger as a typical high-performance heat exchanger. The plate-fin type heat exchanger has a structure in which thin metal plates formed by press working or the like are stacked, and then opposed, cross, or parallel fluid channels of two heat-exchanger fluids of high temperature (hot) side fluid and low temperature (cold) side fluid are formed between the thin metal plates.
Moreover, to increase heat transfer efficiency between two heat-exchanger fluids different in temperature, heat exchangers have been produced so as to increase their heat transfer areas and disrupt the flow of fluids through the provision of a plurality of heat exchanger fins to fluid channels through which heat-exchanger fluids flows as described in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-183916.
However, in those heat exchangers, there have been disadvantages in that when a plurality of thin metal plates are stacked to improve heat transfer characteristics, the volumes of the heat exchangers increase contrary to a request to downsize them and when the heat exchanger fins are attached at closer spacings by increasing the number of heat exchanger fins to be provided in the fluid channel, their pressure loss and production cost required to attach the heat exchanger fins increase despite an improvement in the heat transfer characteristics.